Red Scavenger
While the human population of Appalachia are long-gone, their presence can still be felt in a number of ways, and the region is by no means uninhabited. Red Scavenger is a modified Protectron that continues to follow its programmed orders despite the fact that its owner is dead. History Even before the Great War, Eustace Lee was something of a recluse, preferring to avoid contact with other people. Instead he lived alone on the outskirts of Flatwoods and did his best to minimise contact with the rest of the town. In the years leading up to the 2070s, he began to show signs of paranoia, and was convinced that he was being followed by Chinese spies (among many, many other things). Fearing for his life, he began construction on an emergency refuge deep in the Appalachian forest as a fallback should anything happen to him. This shelter was only partially completed on the morning of the Great War, but as soon as the sirens sounded, Eustace had sequestered himself inside of it to ride out the doom to come and the inevitable Communist Chinese invasion. As the days stretched out into weeks, he began to fell a touch safer, feeling that his seclusion had allowed him to escape the Communists, at least for the moment. However, he also came to realise that his shelter was still only a makeshift structure, and would not last him through the inevitable nuclear winter. Eustace began scavenging runs to acquire materials to expand his shelter, making sure to avoid all contact with other people (who were likely Communist spies by his reckoning). At first these missions were successful, with Eustace gathering both supplies and building materials. However, a run-in with a stray Liberator renewed his paranoia, Eustace taking the small robot’s presence as proof that America had been overrun by the Chinese. While a part of him wanted to retreat into his shelter, he also knew that now, more then ever, he needed to reinforce his defences and increase his stockpile of supplies. This, however presented a problem, in that he would risk exposing himself to Communist invaders. A solution to this dilemma presented itself largely by accident when Eustace stumbled into a damaged but salvageable Logger Protectron. Something of a tinkerer himself, Eustace felt that he could rebuild the machine and use it to do his work for him. His plan proved to be a success, with the modified Protectron ready to go in the spring of 2079. After painting it red (“So it can better infiltrate the Commie robots”), Eustace sent the machine out into the world to scavenge materials for him and return them to his shelter. The Protectron proved to be a success, ably accomplishing its trial mission. Confident in its abilities (and certain that the robot had not been tailed by Communist agents) he sent it out the next day, and then the day after that. Each time it returned with more materials which Eustace immediately put to use. In his eyes, the plan was a huge success. Eustace could stay at home and continue to work on his shelter while the Robot (Which he nicknamed “Red Scavenger”) would continue to gather materials and risk the hazards of the outside world. This allowed Eustace to avoid his many enemies (mostly imagined) while focusing on is work. Over time, he found that the quantity of material that the robot was bringing in was more then he was using, so he began to stockpile scraps and other junk against future use. This stockpiling would prove to be Eustace’s downfall. In August of 2086, a pile of poorly-secured junk inside his bunker collapsed on top of him, crushing him to death. When Red Scavenger returned that night from its daily run, it simply followed its programmed orders and deposited the junk before returning to its recharging booth, casually rolling past the body of its creator/owner. The next morning, having failed to receive new orders, Red Scavenger repeated the prior day’s work assignment, again rolling past Eustace’s corpse as it went out to work. Thanks to Eustace’s planning, Red Scavenger continued to operate for years after his death, simply repeating the same loop. At some stage in 2095, it developed a glitch in its master navigational systems that saw it begin to roam further and further afield in search of materials (While also passing actually usable nearby supplies). While it was still returning to the same base of operations, it was now travelling to seemingly random points all across Appalachia in its scavenging runs. Even after the Scorched plague and the death of the remaining humans in the region, it continued to do its work, even as its paths became even more random and erratic. This work has had the upside that Red Scavenger continues to deposit its junk at Eustace’s shelter. Should anyone discover it, they would come into a treasure trove of salvaged materials. Personality Red Scavenger shares the same basic personality (or lack thereof) as every other Protectron. It is a relatively simple machine programmed to follow a set of instructions which it does without fail, regardless of any logical holes in those plans. That Eustace hasn’t made any efforts to redirect the robot in sixteen years does not register at all; Red Scavenger simply continues to follow his last orders to the letter. In the unlikely event that anyone attempts to interact with it, they would find that the robot speaks in the same clipped monotone as other Protectrons, and reiterates the same basic instructions. While not built for combat, Red Scavenger will not hesitate to defend itself if attacked. While unarmed, its powerful arms and salvage claws are capable of inflicting grievous injuries on an unsuspecting target. Appearance Red Scavenger is based on a logging Protectron frame. While it shares the same domed head and barrel chest as other Protectrons, its lower body is replaced by a tread assembly similar to that found on a Robobrain. The arms are heavy and far bulkier than a regular Protectron, and end with wickedly sharp articulated claws designed for salvage operations. The robot is painted in a bright red colour; over the years, it has become worn, chipped and dirty from exposure and encounters with hostile wildlife. Category:Characters Category:Synthetics Category:Appalachia